Reading List vs StoryGraph
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Reading List
Organize your reading journey by tracking books you've read, are currently reading, or want to read. Log progress, add custom lists, and record notes and ratings. Sync data across devices and export your library.
- Scan barcodes to add books
- Search online for books
- Manual book entry
- Track reading progress (start/finish dates)
- Create custom book lists
- Add ratings and notes
- View reading statistics
- iCloud data sync
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Easily track books you’ve read, books you’re reading, and books you want to read. Record your progress by adding the start and finish date of your books. ADD NEW BOOKS • Scan the barcode of a book to quickly add it to your list • Search online to find and add books • Alternatively, add a book manually by typing in its details • Sync your data between all devices via iCloud TRACK YOUR READING • Quickly log the dates you start and finish each book with a tap or swipe • Order the books, to help plan what to read next • Create your own custom lists, like "Wishlist", "Favourites", etc • Record the current page of books you're reading • Add your own rating and notes to each book • View your reading statistics PRIVATE & PERSONAL • No online account or signup needed • All data is private, stored on-device or in your iCloud account • Export and import all your data Some premium features require Reading List Pro, which can be purchased in the app. The app remains fully-featured when used without Reading List Pro. Terms of Use: https://readinglist.app/termsofservice Privacy Policy: https://readinglist.app/privacypolicy
StoryGraph
Track your reading habits with insightful stats and personalized book recommendations powered by AI. Discover new books based on mood, pace, and genre, and connect with friends for shared reading experiences.
- Import Goodreads data
- Personalized book recommendations
- Track reading habits with stats
- Discover books by mood and pace
- Read with friends (buddy reads)
- Custom reading challenges
- Content warnings for books
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Import your Goodreads data: We will import all of your currently-reading, read, to-read, and did-not-finish shelves. Any custom shelves will be mapped to a custom tag on The StoryGraph. Simple tracking and insightful stats: Easily track and learn about your reading habits with our wide range of charts and graphs. See how your reading develops over time and use that to help you pick better books. Get smart personalized recommendations: Our machine learning AI is like your trusted go-to friend for book recommendations. It'll understand your reading preferences and find the best books for you. Discover books by mood: In the mood for something adventurous, funny, and fast-paced? What about a darker, slower, more emotional read? Mix and match our comprehensive set of filters to choose your next perfect book. Read with friends: Add live reactions to specific parts of the book without fear of spoilers. Comments are locked for other participants until they reach that point in their reading. Don't have people to read with? We’ve got machine learning-powered suggestions for great reading buddies. Reading Challenges: Want to read one book from every country in the world? Or how about read a book per week across a range of genres? Our reading challenges feature help you set up personal goals or join in with others. Custom Tags: Enhance your book tracking and discovery by making use of our custom tags feature. You can search and filter books by your tags and share curated lists with friends. Content Warnings: When you review a book, you can let us know if there's any content within it that might be triggering for others. Then, when searching for your next read, all of this information is at your disposal. Features: • Import your Goodreads account • Reading charts and graphs • Streaks • Favorites • Buddy reads • Readalongs • Book Clubs • Personalized machine learning recommendations • Follow your friends to see what they're reading • Annual reading, page, and listening goals • Search/browse books by mood, pace, and more • Custom tags • Lists to share with your friends or the public • Create your own reading challenge or join in with others • Dark Mode • Barcode Scanner • Giveaways • Browse similar books • Find similar users • Half and quarter star ratings • Built-in DNF (Did Not Finish) functionality (including tracking pages read) • Progress updates with built-in reading journal • Author-approved and user-submitted content warnings Want to support an independent, Goodreads alternative? Consider upgrading to Plus! • Keep the platform ad-free: You'll help The StoryGraph stay independent! • Custom Charts: Create your own pie and bar charts. • Extra Stats Filters: Filter down your stats to a custom time period, or view stats for your fiction or nonfiction reads, your custom tags, any particular mood or genre, and more. • Custom Wrap-Up Graphics: Pick any custom date range and instantly generate shareable graphics for your reading. • Compare Stats: Compare any two stats segments of your StoryGraph library, whether that's a particular year against a custom time period, your To-Read Pile against your owned books, or a combination of several other options. You can also compare any stats segment with any segment from any other user — mix and match however you like. • Exclusive Charts: When comparing your reading across two different years, see exclusive year-on-year charts on the number of books read and their genres. • Shape the roadmap: You get to vote and comment on upcoming features as well as submit official requests for new ones • Priority Support: Your support tickets and requests for book information updates will be handled first Privacy Policy: https://app.thestorygraph.com/privacy Terms of Service:https://app.thestorygraph.com/terms-of-service
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Reading List at 4.8 against StoryGraph's 4.5. Reading List also leads on review sentiment (93% vs 70%) and ratings volume (30K vs 3.6K). StoryGraph's advantage is chart position (#30 vs #188) and iOS requirement (14 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Reading List sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.00 per month and StoryGraph sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Reading List holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Reading List has 30K ratings behind it against 3.6K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 93% of Reading List's written reviews are positive against 70% of StoryGraph's.
Reading List ships an update fortnightly, StoryGraph every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 22, 2026.
| Parameter | Reading List | StoryGraph |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (30K ratings) — better | 4.5 (3.6K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 92.9% of reviews — better | 70.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 30K — better | 3.6K |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | #188 | #30 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 14 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 53 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Andrew Bennet Ltd | The StoryGraph |
Customer experience
Reading List
StoryGraph
User reviews
Reading List
From 30K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Very user-friendly
- 🚀 Easy to add and organize books
- 🔒 Private and non-social
- 💡 Barcode scanning feature
- 👍 Clean and simple interface
Room to improve
- 🐛 Issues with syncing across devices
- 💡 Lack of ability to track re-reads or put books 'on hold'
- 💡 Limited sorting/organizing options for large book collections
- 💡 No ability to add audiobooks or track reading time
StoryGraph
From 3.6K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 User-friendly interface
- 🚀 Excellent reading stats and data visualization
- 💡 Innovative features like buddy reads and reading challenges
- 👍 Clean and modern design
- 💡 Independent company, not owned by big tech
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
- 🐛 Slow performance and loading times
- 🐛 Issues with importing data from other platforms
- 🐛 Missing some basic features like custom shelves/lists
- 🐛 Confusing navigation and UI in places
Bugs and requests
Reading List
Reported bugs
2 issues- Issues with date/time tracking when adding books
- Occasional crashes or data loss when using the app
Requested features
5 requests- Add ability to track re-reads and 'on hold' books
- Improve sorting/organizing options for large collections
- Add support for audiobooks and reading time tracking
- Implement cloud sync and account features to preserve data
- Add more customization options for lists and book display
StoryGraph
Reported bugs
3 issues- App crashes or freezes when trying to update reading progress
- Incorrect book details and page counts
- Login issues where users get logged out frequently
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to track re-reads and multiple editions of books
- More robust social features like following friends, liking reviews
- Barcode scanning to easily add books
- Customizable reading challenges and goal tracking
- Dark mode option
In-app purchases
Reading List
- Reading List Pro (Monthly)$2.001 Month
- Reading List Pro (Monthly)$3.991 Month
- Reading List Pro (Yearly)7 Days trial$14.001 Year
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- Reading List Pro (Yearly)7 Days trial$29.991 Year
- Small Tip$1.00
- Medium Tip$2.00
- Large Tip$3.00
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- Very Large Tip$5.00
- Giant Tip$10.00
- Reading List Pro (Lifetime)$38.00
StoryGraph
- The StoryGraph Plus Monthly$4.991 Month
- The StoryGraph Plus Annual$49.991 Year







